A partnership has been set up that intends for Coca Cola to use plastic bottles globally made entirely out of plant-based materials.
The drinks manufacturer has signed deals with Virent, Gevo and Avantium to develop the bottles following a two-year technical analysis project by Coca-Cola.
It currently uses a product in some countries that is made from 30 per cent plant-based materials, but it hopes to roll out a 100 per cent plant-based product in the next few years, subject to it meeting industry recycling requirements.
Coca-Cola commercial product supply vice president Rick Frazier said: “While the technology to make bio-based materials in a lab has been available for years, we believe Virent, Gevo, and Avantium are companies that possess technologies that have high potential for creating them on a global scale within the next few years.
“This is a significant R&D investment in packaging innovation and is the next step towards our vision of creating all of our plastic packaging from responsibly sourced plant-based materials.”
The PlantBottle that Coca-Cola currently uses is made from 30 per cent plant based materials, which replaces the MEG (mono-ethylene glycol). The remaining 70 per cent is PTA (purified terephtalic acid), and it is this proportion that Coca-Cola wishes to replace with a plant-based material.
